Finale
by j-hyii
Summary: [Various pairings] Resolutions and a finale to the matters of the heart. [3 stories up: HaoxLyserg, YohxAnna, YohxRen]
1. Wanted: HaoxLyserg

**End: Wanted**  
A story by j-hyii  
_pairing: HaoxLyserg_

I had waited for this moment for as long as I could remember, since the day that revenge and hatred overtook my senses and began controlling my life. This moment where I, was finally face-to-face with Asakura Hao. 

Where I was finally able to kill him. The Destroyer laid exhausted on the ground, his brown eyes burning into mine with strange intensity. His manner still proud and haughty. 

My pendulum dangled in front of me as I clenched the thin thread tightly between my fingers. 

"It is what you have always wanted, isn't it?" He said, his voice low and mocking. Mockingly, as if he could see straight into my soul. 

The hand holding my weapon began to tremble slightly as his words swept over me and I could remember the first time it was spoken. 

The very first time he said those words…the time where I was thrown into a kaleidoscope of confusion…

A trail of fingers down my right cheek, breath hot on my face as he leaned towards me, his lips lightly grazing mine…such a light, feathery touch but I had jumped back as if a thousand bees had stung me. 

_It is what you have always wanted, isn't it_?

Yes…

What had shocked me beyond into feeling mere shame…was the desire I had felt, the urge I had to call him as he walked away from me. I wasn't even worthy of feeling ashamed. I wasn't even worthy of feeling sorry…I had betrayed my parents' memory and my own beliefs. 

He was my parents' murderer, the bane of existence, the cause of all my pain, the loss of my childhood. 

How could I feel anything but hate for him? 

And yet…somewhere between the pursue of revenge…my hatred somehow escalated into a fierce obsession. It was an obsession, I needed to see him almost every day, every minute…I had lost my way, I didn't know what to feel, how to feel…it was crazy. I wanted him…to have him and to kill him at the same time…

I was going insane. 

Therefore, I ceased myself of all emotion but the sole thought in my mind that I must kill Asakura Hao. And yet beneath all that, was simmering longing…the passion, the want, the need…that I couldn't begin to understand. 

My hand trembled more violently as I continued staring at him. His lips curved into a smirk as he struggled to stand. "You swore to have your revenge… So why don't you strike now…Lyserg?_ It is what you have always wanted…isn't it?_"

I tried to steady my hand, but I could not. I opened my mouth to command Morphine, but nothing came out.

No…I didn't know what I want anymore. 

I felt my body began to shake, my knees weak, and I slumped onto the ground. The hand holding the pendulum dropped listlessly to my side, my head bowed.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it… 

Asakura Hao crawled towards me, smiling maliciously. He brought his hand to my face, tilted my chin up to meet his eyes. With one swift gesture, he pressed his mouth against mine. 

The contact was for but a few seconds, nothing like the eruption of emotions that vibrated throughout my being, desire being the core of all emotions. And that moment, I hated him, I hated him…but not as much as I hated myself. 

He drew back, still smiling. "You could never kill me."

My eyes glittered with rage at those words, at him and at myself, for being weak…why? Why…why…

"There was always a fine line between love and hate. You've crossed that line. You love me, and you could never kill me."

_You love me_.

Those words struck me. No, I didn't, never did, never would, never could no no no no…My arm snapped back into motion. "MORPHINE!" 

There was a blinding light, as I channelled all my furyoku into that single attack, fuelled by my immense hatred…for him, for myself…and I waited for the pain of his attack to hit me, waited. 

But it never came.

Exhausted from the attack, I slumped onto the ground, and as the dust cleared, a huge wave of shock jolted through me. He didn't even try to fend of my attack. Asakura Hao laid motionless in front of me. Motionless, not moving…dead?

I panted, my vision blurring…and then he coughed. Eyes opened to look at me, eyes already clouded with impending death…he smiled then, for once, a smile without malevolence. A smile…that was gentle. At peace. 

"Why?" I whispered. 

"Idiot…don't you understand? It is what you always wanted…an end…ending…" He coughed again, the effort to speak taking its toll onto his weakening body. 

As I knelt by his side, I was gripped by one single thought. _Don't die. Don't die, don't…_and almost without thinking, I gathered his body into my arms, and began using my furyoku, hoping against hope to…to heal him. 

"Asa…Asakura Hao…don't…"

"I'll…give you what…you want…because I…never…I…" He gave a gasp, shuddered, and then went limp in my arms. 

"No…answer me, don't you do this to me, answer me!!" 

Dead. I shook my head, shaking him, wanting him to wake up, wanting him to continue, to _know_, why…why he didn't counter my attack, why didn't he defend himself…but to no avail. 

He was dead. And he would never again answer my questions. 

Dead, dead, dead…the word thundered through my mind, repeatedly until it became a blurred, meaningless chant. I hated him, but I loved him at the same time. 

_You love me_. 

I couldn't love him but I did anyway. 

It wasn't until I felt the salty liquid on my lips only I realised that I was crying. 

-

Please excuse me for all grammatical and vocabulary mistakes as English is not my first language. Reviews and criticism are more than appreciated, would love it if anyone would tell me how to improve, particularly at portraying characters. I gathered both Hao and Lyserg are quite out-of-character. Thank you reading my first published attempt! 


	2. Loved: YohxAnna

**End: Loved**

A story by jhyii  
_Pairing: YohxAnna_

The night was silent except for the whispering wind that crept across the hills. The two figures standing on the wide pasture were as still as the dark skies. 

They stood apart, almost five feet. Her arms were folded, head tilted, blonde locks tousled. He had his hands in his pockets, developing interest in the grass growing by his feet.

A bystander would have thought them to be the most formal of strangers, but definitely not a couple that had been engaged for almost 10 years. 

The silence between them was almost deafening, until he spoke, his voice bellying none of the tremulous anxiety he felt.

"Well…?" He started, his voice low.  

"I can't go on like this anymore." Her reply was immediate, almost as if she had waited for him to speak, and then launched into her prepared speech. 

He remained quiet, not answering, not looking at her. The wind continued to blew softly, breezing. 

"All this while…it was never what I wanted."

He dared not lift his head, for some strange reason. 

"What do you want?" She asked him, her voice suddenly tired. "What do you want from me…?"

"I…" He opened his mouth, feeling choked. "I just want you to…"

_Love me_.

"Ten years. I've lived ten whole years, a life that I never wanted, never wished for, never obliging. I'm tired. Don't you realise that? Or are you not tired as well?"

_No. I'm not. I'm not because you were with me. All I ever wanted. Why do you never realise that? _

"I want out."

He raised his eyes to look at her, a figure of ice against the dark night. "What do you mean?" 

"Don't you understand? I want out of this. I want freedom. I _need_ freedom." 

"You want to leave me." He stated, his tone cutting, as devastation began washing over him.  

She flinched as though the sharpness of his words had sliced her, but still, she met his gaze defiantly. "Yes."

"So it means nothing to you. It never meant anything to you."

"There's nothing to mean anything."

He clenched a fist. All his life he believed a way out of everything, a way to achieve what he wanted, eventually, if he tried hard enough. For the first time, he could see no solution, but one. 

"Nothing?"

"For God's sake!" She exploded all of a sudden, all her icy demeanour evaporating into the misty night. "What is there between us?! What?" 

_Love.__ For me. But you never loved me. Never._

"It is a release to end this. For me, and for you." 

"Then there's nothing." He said, his voice hollow to his ears. 

"Nothing." She affirmed, but without conviction. She turned away from him again. "Please, end this. Please. I'm trapped, I feel so trapped. I need…I need it. Resolution."

"Very well." He felt strangely detached from the whole conversation, from himself even. Was this the process of grief and devastation? 

He felt an unfamiliar wetness on his cheek. As he lifted a hand to brush it away, he saw that it was a tear. And another followed it. And another. 

She spun around to face him then, and began to speak until she saw the traces of tears on his face. Her eyes widened. 

With disbelief, shock. Bewilderment settled into her eyes. "Why…why…are you crying?"

He laughed then, at her, and at himself. "You wouldn't understand."

_You wouldn't understand because you never loved. Go. Go to your freedom, go to what you need, what you want. It is not me, it was never me and it never will be me. _

For some reason, she began to tremble as realisation swept over her. Wanting to take back her cruel words, but at the same time, could not. 

Straightening himself, he wiped the last of moisture from his eyes and smiled at her. Spreading his arms wide, across the pastures, he said, "Go to your world, then. Your freedom. There's nothing between us. Never will be anything." 

"Good bye, Anna. Have a good life. One that no matter how hard I try, I could never give it to you."

_Because it wasn't what you wanted.__ I did not understand what you wanted. _

He brushed past her, beginning his journey home, to the new strangeness of his sole existence when a small voice stopped him. 

"Yoh…Yoh…I'm sorry…"

"I'm sorry, too." His reply was automatic, flat. 

"Why?" That single word conveyed so much meaning, and so many emotions. _Why did you let me go? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you try to ask me to stay?_

He turned around to look at her, and to see rare pearls of tears spilling over her eyes. She was sorry, but at the same time, he could see a sort of resolve in her.

He regarded her for a moment, and then smiled bitterly. 

It was her decision and his, and there would be no turning back. No matter what the circumstances were. No turning back, not for anyone of them. She would never, and neither would he. 

He smiled again, it seemed like that it was all he could do. "I loved you. Once." With that, he turned, and walked away, leaving her alone on the field.

_I loved you. I love you._

Alone, that was what he was from that moment, and perhaps, so was she. 

Further and further he walked, never turning back, never seeing her crumpled onto the ground, and never hearing her whispered words. 

"I love you, too." 

-

I have an idea to make **End** into a sort of series, perhaps taking on endings of various pairings and shippings. Beware of strange and very non-canon ones, because I am a strange person to say the least. :) Please read and review and perhaps suggest a pairing. But be forewarned that majority of them would not get a good ending. This is meant to be an angst collection. And my sincerest thanks to all reviews for Part 1 of **End**. 


	3. Choice: YohxRen

**Finale: Choice  
**A story by jhyii

_Pairing: YohxRen_

"I can't be with you anymore." 

That was the last thing he expected to hear from him. So many things he wanted to hear him say, but that sentence, undoubtedly, was never, and never will be one of them.

"What do you mean?" His voice came out steady and low, unlike the emotions that had begun churning within him. 

"I meant what I said." 

"I know. Why?"

He watched as the other young man nibbled at his bottom lip nervously, and twisted his hands. A long silence lapsed between them, he refused to speak until he did. 

"Ren." Brown eyes that mirrored sorrow met his seemingly calm yellow ones. "You knew that it could never be. You and me…it…"

"That wasn't what you said a year ago." A menacing tone edged his voice as he automatically clenched his fist. 

"You knew." He countered stubbornly.  

Yes, he did. He did know, but like everyone else, he held a ray of hope, the smallest flicker of light in darkness. Looking at his lover now, he felt like a complete fool. 

"You want to deny this ever happened?"

"No!" He cried instantly, wishing there was an easier way. He had thought so long and hard about it, but in the end, this was the only resolution he could come up with. It killed him to hurt the one he loved, but there was no other way. "I could never deny what we had."

"Had." The dark haired young man echoed hollowly. 

"Had." He affirmed softly. "I'm sorry…"

"It is her, isn't it?" He said abruptly. Even the mere mention of her, _that_ woman, simmered the hidden rage in him. 

A pained look came over the other's face, and he took a step forward, one hand extended. But his partner shook his head, and took a giant step back. "It is her, isn't it?" He repeated, hating the slight shakiness in his voice. 

Hating the fact that he cared, he cared so much. Damnit, from the start, he shouldn't have cared. He should have treated this…this _dalliance_ casually. 

Then perhaps he wouldn't be feeling as painfully devastated as he was now. 

"Ren…I didn't mean to…but I couldn't…couldn't hurt her…" 

"But you hurt me." He interrupted coldly, so coldly that the brown-haired young man flinched. "You hurt me, but it doesn't matter, does it? Time and time again, you came to me, but you always ended up going back to her. Always. You hurt me, Yoh, but it doesn't mean anything to you, to do that to me. Because _I _don't matter to you. Only she does."

"You know it's not true! You know how important you are to me!" He cried desperately, wishing he could deny the hollow, awful truth. He did end up going back to her every time…but just because, he could not help it. 

"Important?" He laughed, no gaiety in the harsh sound. "You could have fooled me, Asakura Yoh."

"You understand how much you mean to me."

"Do I?"

"Ren…"

"Do I _ever_ mean _anything_ to you? Or am I merely an interesting diversion for you from your daily life?" He spat. "She's not enough for you, you had to have me as well? You came to me, or did you forget?" Every single word that poured from his mouth was tinged with venom and pain

"Ren, please." He was pleading now. Wishing he could take back every word, every shred of hurt, but it wasn't possible. "Don't."

"Shut up. Don't talk to me like that. Don't talk to me as if you were the victim. You're not. You're not, do you hear me?" 

"I love her!" He burst out, and then a shocked look settled on his features. He took a step back, slapping a trembling hand over his mouth. 

His yellow eyes widened. 

_I love her_.

Was it possible to feel the amount of pain that he was feeling now? The excruciating sensation of a million knives, a thousand gun shots…that one single sentence, tore away everything he believed in, everything that he thought was…

_Then what am I?_

"You love her?" He asked, his voice quiet, all the rage gone. Deflated. 

Across from him, the shaman drew in a shaky breath. "Yes."

"Then…? What…am…I?"

"You're...my most precious...you mean so much…" He whispered agonizingly. "But…she…is my everything."

_Then I am nothing._

"Get out." His voice came out clear and strong. 

"Ren…"

"I said. Get out." He turned his back, refusing to look at him. He didn't want to look at him ever again…it hurt too much. 

Slowly, the other man turned to leave, taking a few steps before he paused, and turned back. "I love you." 

His heart leapt to his throat, and he started to turn to him, but his next words stopped him dead in his tracks. "But I cannot leave her." With that, he was gone. 

_I love you_.

How long had he been waiting for him to say that? How much had he longed for that kind of assurance from him? But the irony… 

"You bastard. You said that…as you left me. You bastard…" 

Then he did something that he hadn't done in years, something that he had sworn he would never do.

Tao Ren broke down and cried. 

-

I've changed the title to my story and will be making relevant changes soon. My sincerest thanks to reviewers **Akari****, Kyo Terayashi, katoryu diethel, The-Truus, Kyoyama Kita.**

Please read, review and criticise, most appreciated.


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